The Knowledge Transfer Partnership scheme (KTP), funded by Innovate UK, is one of the most well-known forms of knowledge exchange and the University of Brighton is one of the UK leaders in this area, and has been actively running KTP programmes for many years with over 250 companies of all types and sizes.
Knowledge Transfer Partnerships are a three-way partnership between a company, a recent graduate known as an ‘Associate’ who will work on a project on behalf of the company, and senior university specialists who have the knowledge the company needs to access to innovate and grow.
In addition to KTPs, universities can offer other knowledge exchange programmes that offer short, flexible projects, with or without an Associate involved. Knowledge exchange projects benefit from government funding of up to 67% which makes them an attractive option for businesses wanting to access university expertise.
Some recent examples of knowledge exchange include:
- transferring thermal engineering expertise to optimise a power-storage system with Highview Power;
- providing knowledge engineering and artificial intelligence expertise to develop stock logistics and purchasing solutions for printer consumables recycler BCMY; and
- sharing product design expertise to optimise the design and manufacture of mobile drilling rigs for Dando Drilling.
Highview Power Storage Chief Executive Gareth Brett said: “Working with the University of Brighton on the KTP gave us efficient, interactive access to targeted academic research and expertise, and a means of integrating this directly into our business. As a technology SME, this was invaluable to unlocking the rapid progressive development of a critical part of our system.”
As part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy, enhanced levels of funding are currently available for projects across all sectors that aim to develop innovative products and services that will help the economy to grow. Projects in the following broad categories are particularly encouraged: manufacturing and materials; emerging and enabling technologies; infrastructure systems; and health and life sciences.
Find out more about how knowledge exchange can work for your organisation at www.brighton.ac.uk/ke17
